Road-drag.



E. L. STEVENS.

ROAD' DRAG.

APPLICATION FILED MAY II. 191s.

1 ,277,66 1. Patented sept. 3, 191s.

EDWARD L. STEVENS, F LOVELAND, COLORADO.

ROAD-DRAG.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 3, 1918.

` Application mea nay 11, 191s. serial No. 233,864.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD L. STEVENS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Loveland, in the county of Larimer and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Road- Drags, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to an improved road drag, and has for its primary object to provide certain improvements in a reversible road drag such as that shown and described in Patent No. 1,233,521, 'issuedto me July 17, 1917, whereby the serviceabihty and utility of the device will be materially enhanced.

It is one of the important objects of the present improvements to provide means whereby the operator by merely shifting his weight upon the platform may elevate the drag beam so that the road surfacing blade or bit may safely pass over obstructions such as boulders, culverts and the like, or for the purpose of depositing the material gathered by the blade in holes or depressions in the road surface. p l

It is also an object of the present inven-I tion to provide a construction whereby the dirt gathered by the surfacing blade is de` livered from one end of the bladewithout being retarded, and the road surface smoothed or leveled.

It is a further general object of the invention to improve the construction of the patented device in the particulars above specified without materially complicating the construction thereof, or increasing the manufacturing cost.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the improved combination, construction and relative arrangement of the several parts as will be hereinparallel bars'which are suitably fixed to the forward end of said beam and extend rearwardly therefrom at an angle of approximately Between the converging forward end portions of the bars 6 and the beam 5 the spaced parallel platforms 7 are'mounted and secured. The beam 5 is provided along its upper and lower longitudinal edges with the forwardly projecting flanges 8, said anges terminating adjacent the rear ends of the platforms 7. The remaining rearwardly extending portion of the beam 5 is strongly reinforced by a bar 9 which is fixed to the rear side thereof.v This reinforcing bar is provided at its rearend with a suitable handle 10. One of the bars 6 is preferably formed with a similar handle 11 at its rear end.

The front faces of the flanges 8 are reversely beveled and to these beveled faces the road engaging blades or bits 12 are secured by means of bolts 13 extending through said ianges. The blades 12 extend the entire length of the flanges 8 and are .preferably formed with spaced pairs of holt receiving openings, as indicated at 14, so that said blades may be properlyY adjusted to compensate for wear upon the road engaging edges thereof. I haveherein illustrated one of the blades 12 as being provided with a toothed or serrated edge to out into or scarify the road surface, said blade being designed for use upon gravel road beds,

while the smooth-edged blade is employed upon dirt roads.

A supporting wheel 15 is rotatably mounted upon a suitable axle fixed in the spaced bars 6 at points substantially midway between their ends. A second relatively small wheel 16 is rotatably mounted between the bars 6 at their rear ends and in spaced relation to the larger supporting wheel 15. Suitable spacing means 17 is arrangedy between the bars 6 and rigidly bolted thereto. Each of the platforms 7 is provided at its rear end with a part, as shown at 18, which projects rearwardly between the wheels 15 and 16. Normally, the weight of the draO beam 5 overbalances the platforms4 7, and the wheel 16 is maintained in an' elevated position out of contact with the road surface. The operator stands upon the platform 7 forwardly of the axis of the supporting wheel 15 so that the edge of the lower blade 12 on the beam 5 is firmly held in Contact with the surface of the road.'

To the beam 5, at spaced points, the ends of a chain or other flexible element 19 are secured and to said chain suitable draft elements are adapted to bfA connected.

In the operation of the improved road drag, as the device is drawn over the road surface, the loose earth or gravel is collected in front of the road engaging blade 12 and finally passes laterally beyond the rear end of the blade. The part of the beam 5 eX- tending rearwardly from the platform, and which is reinforced by the bar 9, is relatively narrow and serves to smooth or level the dirt delivered from the rear end of the surfacing blade 12 over or upon the surface of the road. When a culvert, boulder, or other obstruction is inthe path of the drag, the operator steps rearwardly upon the platform extension 18 lso that his weight will center between the-wheels 15 and 16. The

platform will thus be rocked'upon the axis of the wheel 15 and the wheel 16 will be lowered into contact with the road surface, both the wheels then serving as supporting means for the platform. The drag blade 12 is thus elevated out of contact with the road surface so that it will safely pass over the obstruction. The beam 5 and the drag blade are also thus elevated when it is desired to deposit the collected material in an excavation or depression in the surface of the road.

When operating upon a narrow road, it may be frequently necessary to raise the drag to a perpendicular position in order to allow trailic to pass. This may be conveniently done by grasping either of the handles 10 or 11 and then lifting upon the same.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, the construction, manner of operation and several advantages of the invention will be clearly and fully understood. It will be appreciated that by means of a very few simple additions to the original device, I have materially increased the utility and practical serviceability however, it 1s to be noted that the additions or improvements which have been made do not greatly increase the cost of construction. The road engagin blades 12 are preferably made of hardene tempered steel and may thereof.v At the same time,

be easily and quickly applied to and adjusted upon the drag beam.

While I have herein shown anddescribed the preferred construction, form and relative arrangement of the various elements, it is to be understood that the same are susceptible of considerable modification and I, therefore, reserve the privilege of adopting all such le 'timate changes as may be fairly embodie within the spirit and scope ofthe invention as claimed.

I claim 1. A road drag including a platform having its opposite sides forwardly converging, a drag beam secured to one side edge of the platform and provided with a road engaging blade and longitudinally spaced wheels mounted at the opposite edge of the platform, the forward wheel being of greater diameter than the rear wheel, said rear wheel being elevated out of contact with the road surface in the operative position of the drag beam and adapted for engagement with the road surface when the operator shifts his weight to a position rearwardly of the aXis'of the forward wheel.

2'. A' reversible road drag including'spaced platforms having their side edges forwardly converging, adrag beam secured to one side of the platforms and having road engaging blades thereon, spaced parallel bars secured to the opposite edges of the latforms and extending rearwardl thereof), a relatively large supporting w eel mounted between said their ends, an additional relatively small wheel mounted between said bars rearwardly of the platforms and normally disposed out of contact with the road surface in the operative position of the drag beam, and extensions from the platforms projectin between the spaced wheels and upon which the operator may stand to rock the platforms upon the axis of the larger wheelwhereby the drag beam is elevated and the smaller wheel lowered into engagement with the road surface.

bars substantially midway between In testimony whereof I hereunto affix myv 

